Rail anchor



W. M. MITCHELL.

- RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16,1920.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

MZZyaT UNITED STAKES rarsu'r OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. MIToHE L, or LOUIsvILLE, KENTUCKY, assierivonzro THE rain: COMPANY, or CHICAGO, IL-LINoIs, A oonPoRATIoN or ILLINOIS.)

RAIL ANCHOR.

Application filed July 16,

To all to 7mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM M. MITCHELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Louisville, county of Jefferson, and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Anchors, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the following accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My present invention, while adapted as to certain of its'features, to other forms of rail anchors, is more particularly designed as an improvement upon the type of rail anchor set forth in Letters Patent No. 1,388,148,.

granted to me April 27, 1920. The invention consists in the features of novelty hereinafter described, illustrated in the aecompanying drawing and particularly pointer out in theclaims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section through a railroad rail showing my improved anchor applied thereto, a portion of a railway tie being shown in elevation. Figure 2 is a sideview of my improved anchor. Figure 3 is a plan view of my improverv anchor. Figure 4t is a view of a blank from which my improved anchor may be made. Figure 5 is a detail view of the screw.

A designates the railway rail and. B denotes one of the cross ties on which the rail is mounted- My present-invention is shown as embodied in a one-piece form of rail anchor very similar to that set forth in my above mentioned Letters Patent dated April 27, 1920. That is to say, the anchor comprises a jaw formed of an upper member and a lower member 0 an abutment plate 0, and a plate c extending downwardly from the inner edge of the member 0" of the aw and at right angles to the jaw member 0 and to the abutment member 0 Through the upper j aw member 0 formed .a threaded hole adapted to receive a screw D, the upper end of which is suitably shaped to be engaged by a wrench. The lower end of the set screw D is preferably concave or cup-shaped as at (Z, thereby giving to the peripheral portion of the lower end of the screw an annular cutting edge 03 adapted to effectively indent or cut into the upper inclined surface (I, of the base flange a of the rail A. While advantageous and preferable, it is not essen- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. '7, 1922.

1920. serial No. 396,834.

tial that the lower end of the screw D should be formed as shown in the drawing.

An importantfeature of my present invention is that the threaded hole in the upper jaw member 0 of the rail anchor extends downwardly and outwardly from a vertical plane so that when the screw D is in position the upper endof the screw will similarly incline downwardly iand outwardly. from the web a of the rail A. When the lower end of the screw D is more or less recessed so as to form a peripheral cutting edge cl, the forcing downward of the screw causes its lower edge portion 03 to out into or embed itself in the upper surface a of the rail base flange and thus effectively hold the anchor against loosening or movement from off the rail. The downward and outward inclination of the screw D will be found advantageous, however, even when the end of the screw D is formed blunt or with a point, although I regard the construction shown as preferable. I

My improved anchor is preferably formed from plate metal sufficiently high in carbon as to give considerable resiliency there to. Hence, when the anchor has been set upon the rail base flange and the screw D has been forced downward to engage the upper face of the flange, the resiliency of the jaw member 0 of the anchor will tend at all times to hold the screw under compression against the base flange of the rail, so that notwithstanding the vibrations of the rail incident to the passage of traflic thereon, there is a constant engagement of the lower end of the screw with the rail flange which aids in preventing the screw turning and working loose. I

My improved anchor is preferably formed, by means of suitable dies, from a blank such as shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings. Inasmuch as the most severe strain upon the anchor, incident to the tendency of the rail to creep, tends to spread the jaws c and c of the anchor, I have provided that part c of the anchor that extends around the outer edge of the base flange with an offset rib 0 this rib being bumped upward by a suitable die in the process of forming the anchor. The reinforcing rib 0 preferably extends from about midway of the upper jaw 0 to a slight distance on the vertical plate 0 as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, as thereby great strength is given to the anchor jaw at the point subjected to the greatest strain, while suflicient resiliency is allowed to the jaw to insure the constant compression of the lower end of the screw D against the rail base flange when the auchor is in position for use.

In applying my anchor to a railway rail, the jaw portion of'the anchor is forced over the base flange of the rail until the anchor is in the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, after which the screw D will be turned downwardly to cause its lower end to firmly engage the upper inclined surface of the rail base flange. As the screw D is thus forced downward, its lower end embeds itselt more or less in the upper surface of the rail base flange, and because of the downward and outward inclination of the screw, its downward movement tends to draw the anchor up onto the rail, instead of tending to push it therefrom, is the case when the screw is not thus inclined. The upper resilient jaw c of the anchor yields slightly, as the screw is turned downward, and thus serves to hold the end of the screw D at all times under compression against the rail base flange. As the rail A tends to creep, the engagement of the abutment with the side of the tie B tends to produce a slight rocking of the anchor, thereby causing the anchor jaws to firmly grip the base flange of the rail by what is commonly spoken of as a shackle action, thus serving to hold the rail against creeping, while the screw D not only aids in preventing any slipping of the anchor longitudinally oi the rail, but also also aids in resisting any tendency of the anchor to move laterally from engage ment with the rail base flange.

I wish it understood that the details of construction above set out may be Tllfitl without departure from. the spirit oi the in; vention and that features of the invention may be employed without its adoption as an entirety.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is j 1. A rail anchor comprising a aw adapted to engage one of the base flanges of a rail.

upper surIace of the base flange, and a set screw threaded through the upper jaw member at an acute angle thereto, said set screw having a peripheral cutting edge and adapted to force the jaw laterally into snug engagement with the rail base flange.

A rail anchor comprising a aw having upper and lower members adapted to en one only of the base flanges of the rail, a depending tie abutting port-ion, and a set screw threaded through the upper member of the jaw and adapted to engage the inclined upper surface of the rail base flange, saic set screw being inclined downwardly and outwardly and adapted to draw the jaw laterally into snug engagement with the base flange of: the rail. 7

l. A rail anchor formed of resilient metal and comprising a jaw having upper and lower members for engaging one of the base flanges of a rail, the portion 01" said jaw that extends around the edge of the base flange being formed with an offset strengthening rib, the end of which is spaced from he end of the upper jaw member, and a set screw threaded through the end portion of the upper aw member and adapted to engage the upper face of the rail base flange.

a. A. rail anchor comprising a jaw adapted to engage one of the base flanges of the rail and having an upwardly and inwardly inclined, resilient upper member and a downwardly and outwardly inclined set screw threaded through the upper resilientmember of said jaw and adapted to force the jaw laterally into snug engagement with the rail base flange.

WILLIAM M. MITCHELL. 

